incident at nursery adult and child - what would you do?

Question

i work at a nursery at the moment am an assistant so i don't generally make the rules but help with the childcare.
Today a little boy (one year old) pushed another child over. the nursery teacher in charge shouted at the boy and said how would you like it and pushed him over and he started to cry. I felt really bad, i am pretty sure that there are laws on disapline and she was out of order, but im not sure how i should handle the situation. this isnt the first time something simliar has happends. your views please?

Answer 1

I don't think she handled this correctly. AT ALL!!
She should have taken him to the side, got down to his level and firmly, (not yelling or being mean) explain that this is wrong and not to do it again. maybe put him in time out. If he tells his parents she is going to be in trouble for pushing him as she should! I would go to her supervisor if I were you.

Answer 2

She pushed another child down to make a point. Report her now! What she did is not right at all. I can tell you if I were there I would have confronted her right away. I would have straight out told her," Dont you ever touch another child like that ever again. I'm going to report what I just witnessed and I'm going to let the parents know about this. If you try and deny this or this is covered up I'll get the police involved and I'll get the news people over here so that everyone is aware of this place." She could have handled the situation much better than what she did. It doesn't matter if you are a teacher's assistant, you have a right to report this. Who knows what else happens that you have not seen. This is not the first time she has done something like this and she thinks she can get away w/ it. Let the parents know about this. I can tell you any parent would be upset if this happened to their child. You send your child to watched thinking they are going to be cared for. I dont care if this boy was the biggest brat of the bunch. That doesn't give anyone a right to lay a finger on any child. If this happened to my child, I would have knocked her out. Lay a finger on my child I'll do the same to you. If the issue is not solved then you should think about finding another job b/c this place is just a lawsuit waiting to happen

Answer 3

I would write (type) a letter and stating what happened and send it to a- the parents, b- all of the upper staff and c- if it continues to happen i would document and report to dhs for now though I would just let the parents and administraters know and would not say who you are they will def fire you as it is not something they want getting out. if they do go to dhs and let them know what happened and what you previously have seen they will make it stop if the center wont. I have a two year old and you never ever do back to the child what they did to teach them a lesson it doesnt work , it is child abuse, and it raises kids who think an eye for an eye or worse. she was beyond "over the line" If i were the parent I would sue the center for child neglect, abuse and poor judgement in the hiring process. I think that is why I am a stay at home mom.

Answer 4

First and foremost, Summer is dumb because she was WAAAAAAAAAAY out of line. Second of all, I would not confront the woman but I would go to your manager. Tell her that if you see it again you will go to the department of social services because NO adult in charge or otherwise has the right to put their hand on a child. I would also tell your manager that you expect the parents to know about the situation and if they are not told by her that you will. I know that wouldn't be an easy task for you and may put you in an awkward situation but honestly, I'm sure you enjoy kids and that is why you work with them. I'm sure that you know that it is wrong to hurt a child even in a mild fashion. I'm also sure that you wouldn't want to see a child get hurt or mistreated again in the future which is what could happen. She was incredibly unprofessional and out of line.

Answer 5

Your co-worker was definitely in the wrong. Talk to your director and express your concerns. It sounds like the teacher is stressed out and may need a break, or some help learning to manage her frustrations. If you tell the director this, and tell her that you are concerned both for the teacher and for the children, the director should know how to approach the situation. Please speak to her (the director) right away before something worse happens. Your co-worker could lose her job if she doesn't take a break and work on her self-control.

Answer 6

She was totally out of order! Children that age will push and hit (they don't know any better). But they don't understand the idea of discipline, either. At one year old, the adult should redirect the children and perhaps add a little comment about being nice to our friends.

If I were you, I would bring this matter to the attention of your supervisor or the nursery director. Her behavior is unacceptable and will only set a bad example for the little ones.

You've got good instincts . . . follow them! :)

Answer 7

This has happened with my child before in pre-school and I walked in on the teacher picking my child up practically throwing her into the bean bags making her cry just because she picked up some scissors. I was furious. I would definitely alarm the parents if this happens again. It may get out of hand the next time!

Answer 8

I would talk to the director of the center. As an assistant teacher I don't think that you are really in the position to tell the teacher what to do, as the teacher would probably get offended (as it seems she has a temper).

Answer 9

I don't know where you are located. In NY you would be required to make a call to CPS and the licensing office would be notified. Failure to call CPS would get you in trouble if it came out later that you knew what was happening.This behavior is grounds for immediate dismissal.If this is a regulated program there must be a regulation that forbids this. In any case, please tell your supervisor and if you are not satisfied call whoever regulates the program.

Answer 10

i would tell the director of the school and/or her supervisor and let them handle it. the parents should be informed and that teacher should be talked to but it is not your call to do so. if they do not tell the parents or talk to the teacher i would contact the license department that oversees the school, you should be able to do this anonymously. be carefull how you report it, do not tell the supervisor how you expect it to be handled, this could cost you your job now and at other daycares.